Mexico - Best US City to fly out of to Merida or Cancun

Does anyone know what the cheapest city in the US to fly out of to either Merida or Cancun is? It doesn't really matter where from but either the North-East or Texas or California would be ideal. But if there is a consistently cheaper option elsewhere, I am all ears.

Thanks.

It depends on which airline. Frontier flies there from a lot of cities, including their hub in Denver. Spirit from Ft. Lauderdale. Continental/United has the only direct flights to Merida, from Houston. But in the odd way legacy airlines work, it is sometimes cheaper to go through Houston from elsewhere than to go there from the hub.

Lots of charter airlines fly to Cancun of course, like USA3000. I once got a flight from Nashville to Cancun on one of those for $99 each way.

Cheapest? Maybe Tijuana. Of course, much would depend on where you are starting out from, and we are kept guessing here.

OP back again. I ended up getting a fairly cheap flight out of Miami, so it worked out all good. The flight to SF was a bit more expensive and it goes through Houston. But I was able to manage with my budget.

Thanks for the help.

The only flights between the U.S. and Merida are Continental/Houston and AeroMexico/Miami. Limited service, high fare market. You are better off looking for deals to Cancun.

The only flights between the U.S. and Merida are Continental/Houston and AeroMexico/Miami. Limited service, high fare market. You are better off looking for deals to Cancun.

Yeah, I got mine into Cancun, not Merida. Sorry.

Even for those going to Mérida, one can sometimes get such good fares into Cancún it pays to do that, take the bus or shuttle to the Terminal Camionera and take the ADO bus to Mérida - economical, air conditioned, pretty plush seats and much more comfortable than the airplane you came in on.

There are usually two direct busses to Mérida from the airport. The rest of the time, you will take their shuttle to the downtown bus terminal. ADO shuttles are at both airport terminals, and you can usually spot a kiosk where you can buy tickets; your bags will be put in the belly of the bus, and you will arrive at the downtown terminal to catch your bus to Mérida (or elsewhere). If a taxi driver or a shill tells you they do not exist, beware an impending ripoff attempt. A porter can schlep your bags and take you to the right place - just say "ah, day, oh?" Tip a buck a bag or so and he will be very happy.

When you arrive at the downtown terminal, take your baggage to the ticket counters, if you do not have your tickets yet purchase them and check your baggage - just as you did at your departure airport - and they will give you baggage checks to present at the other end of the line. Seats are assigned when you purchase your ticket; there is no GuruDeAsientos to guide you, but they do have a chart they can show you at the counters. ;)

ADO (ah-day-oh, Autobuses del Oriente) has three levels of service - ADO, ADO-GL and ADO Platino. ADO is First Class (really), GL is luxury and Platino has fully reclining seats with eye masks, blankets, pillows, etc. and an attendant who can get you snacks or soft drinks. The Platino service also has a VIP lounge to wait in.

Cancún to Mérida on one of these fast busses is about four hours. The price is currently between USD $22.50 and $40, depending on class of service, Nope, no pints I am aware of! :D

Airport to Mérida busses take about four hours and are the ADO (First) busses; departures currently at 1:30, 3:30 and 5:00 PM only, a premium price at USD $35-37.50 (500 MXN) but comfy and fast. Most end at the downtown bus terminal and many stop at Altabrisa and the Fiesta Americana (all "local" CUN - Mérida busses currently do so).

You can see schedules and pricing here (http://www.ado.com.mx/ado/index.jsp) on the ADO website, but it's only in Castilian spanish.

No, I would never hesitate to take a first class or luxury Mexican bus. The drivers are very professional, there is GPS speed monitoring, they are far better than any bus I have ever seen in the USA and I have taken ADO, Estrella de Oro, Cristobal Colón, Estrella Blanca and Autobuses Pullman de Morelos - eben one or two overnight busses in Mexico (reclining seats, etc. with bathroom, and maybe a little swaying). The very local intertown "chicken" Flecha Roja, etc. busses, well... I've taken them, too, but would not recommend that for you!

Spirit Air out of Ft Lauderdale

I have researched every US airport because fares are consistently high at Christmas. What I found is that I don't save any money by starting at a hub in Houston, Dallas, Phoenix, Denver, Salt Lake City, etc. - the fares are high no matter when I start so I am best just booking a nonstop or connection from SFO (LAX can sometimes be +/- $100). Even starting in MEX is fairly pricey on Aeromexico and you still have to get to Mexico City.

The only exception is MIA/FLL on JetBlue and American (maybe they have to fare match spirit) - so if you can get to south florida for free you might save some $$ to CUN.